This invention relates in general to the field of mobility devices, and more particularly to personal lift devices of the type that may be used to raise or lower a physically disabled person for the purpose of moving them. Most particularly, this invention relates to a form of lock for a folding personal lift device.
Patient lift devices have been known and used in the past for the purpose of assisting with the mobility of otherwise immobilized patients. An attendant may help physically disabled patients who may have suffered a traumatic injury, stroke or one form of illness or another, and who are unable to move about. With a patient lift device, an attendant can hoist a patient from a bed and move him or her into a wheelchair or other desired location. Patient lift devices permit the patient to be raised or lowered and also permit the patient to be swiveled away from the bed about a vertical support member. Such devices include wheeled support structures that allow the devices to be wheeled from place-to-place in a healthcare facility and used as stand alone equipment (i.e., they are not attached to the floor, ceiling or other fixture in the room).